First NameLast Name Email Address PhoneYear of BirthNumber of Guest(s)

Ticket Type

Taj Al Sultan: Flavours of Arabia & India in Islamic Cairo

Published On:
31/08/2011

Khan El Khalili
is known mostly for its alleyway market, old houses and interesting cultural
events. Though it does have several restaurants, most of the venues serve
primarily small dishes such as kabab sandwiches or kofta plates. This reviewer
recently discovered Taj El Sultan, a restaurant promising Indian-Egyptian
cuisine, whatever that might be. We wouldn’t call it a hidden gem, since the
three-level restaurant is not exactly obscure; nevertheless you could easily
miss it. The entrance is located between a souvenir shop and an ATM machine. If
you come from the direction of El Hussein Square, you will find yourself walking
directly towards it. Otherwise ask for the ATM since it is the only one in this
area.

Don’t
let the tacky Merry Christmas greeting on the entrance’s wall put you off.
Apart from that, the restaurant’s interior is terrific. Enormous lamps hang
from the ceilings and light up the staircases. The first floor is decorated in
wooden arabesque, enormous high ceilings and wonderful lamps. The second floor
is divided into niches underneath dome-shaped ceilings. The interior is
decorated in colourful Egyptian fabrics, and all the couches and seats are
filled with comfortable cushions. The best part is probably the roof terrace,
where low tables and sofas are accentuated by the cutest little lights.

The menu
at Taj El Sultan is extensive with Egyptian meals as well as Indian meals.
Unfortunately, like most restaurants in this area, Taj El Sultan is suffering
from the lack of tourists. We decided to try out their Indian food but
unfortunately most items were not available at the time of our visit. In the
end it took us over one hour to order because the waiter had to walk back and
forth to the kitchen below to ask if the meal we had requested was available.

In the
end we settled for shahi korma (70LE) and murg pastoom (70LE). The shahi korma was
creamy and the touch of coriander absolutely made the dish, although it was
less spicy than we’d expected of an Indian dish. The murg pastoom came in a creamy
tomato-based gravy and was a bit spicy. The chicken tasted juicy as well although the pieces were a bit too big.
With the curries we sampled several naan breads. Apart from the plain naan, we also
sampled the garlic naan and the butter naan, which lived up to its name by
being deliciously drenched in butter. The garlic naan had just enough garlic to
taste but not enough to dominate the rest of the food.

Taj El
Sultan is definitely one of the best restaurants in Khan Khalili, but we found
it quite a shame that half of the menu wasn’t available. Although the staff was
really friendly, they had no knowledge of the Indian menu whatsoever. However, Taj
El Sultan is worth a visit just for the wonderful interior and the Indian food,
if available, is really good.

Visiting the El
Hussein area in Islamic Cairo isn’t what it used to be. The scarcity of
tourists and visitors is turning one of the most charming areas of Cairo into a
ghost town, where the vendors, shops and cafés are in recession. But despite
this, El Hussein still retains some semblance of being one of the most graceful,
culturally rich touristic attractions in the city. It’s still a great place to take
in Egypt’s history and, in this case, it’s still a great place to go for
authentic Egyptian food. Haaty Abou
Bassem is located amongst a cluster of other restaurants opposite Al Azhar
Mosque and it’s easy to miss in the proverbial circus of the area as waiters encourage
you to take a seat at their restaurants and cafés. Like most Egyptian
restaurants, Haaty Abou Bassem specialises in grills and tagines. The
restaurants reception houses the cashier and the take-away counter, as well as
the customary behemoth, Egyptian grilling stations, and is a bit of a mad
house. But the Arabic and Islamic décor of the main seating area soon makes you
forget, as does the high ceiling – a norm in old Egyptian architecture – and the
soft, yellow lighting. It all adds up to a rustic, authentic feel. Even the tables, at first glance, look a little wrecked, but it really
does add to the atmosphere. Overall, the best way to describe Haaty Abou Bassem
is that it’s balady-touristic – a description that extends to the service, too.
It’s by no means top service, but the staff members are personable, sincere and
will likely engage in a bit of cross-lingual banter. The menu is
basic and straight to the point, offering Egyptian classics such as grilled
kabab, kofta and veal, as well as stuffed pigeon, chicken, fatta, kawaraa (beef
shin and knuckle) and meat tagines. There’s also a selection of soups and
appetisers such as mombar and stuffed vine leaves. One kilo of
kabab and kofta will set you back 130LE. The meats are grilled perfectly and
are full of flavour, especially the kofta, which is prepared with a mix of
herbs and spices that really elevate it. As a side dish, the mixed rice (6LE) comes
highly recommended as opposed to the spaghetti bolognese (5LE), which was a bit
reminiscent of koshary. It was bland and poorly seasoned, as was the orzo soup
(4LE). The
highlights of the menu, however, are the veal fatta (45LE) and the shish tawouk
(44LE), which we saw on several other tables during our visit. Although both
are basic, common Egyptian dishes, Haaty Abou Bassem’s versions are cooked and
spiced perfectly, in big portions. Despite
lacking in terms of service and a shabby bathroom, Haaty Abou Bassem shines
with its well-delivered Egyptian dishes and with a such a wide range of prices,
it’s easy to see why this has become one of the favourites in the area over the
years.